Rack for holding life buoy equipment



J. G. A. RICCIO RACK FOR HOLDING LIFE BUOY EQUIPMENT Sept. 28, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 18, 1950 FIG 2 1 1. Air

INVENTOR. .RICCIO JOSEPH GA Sept. 28, 1954 J, R cqd 2,690,152

RACK FOR HOLDING LIFE BUOY EQUIPMENT Filed March 18, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. I JOSEPH G.A R|C)C|O Patented Sept. 28, 1954 UNITED STATES iDATENT OFFICE RACK FOR HOLDING LIFE BUOYEQUIPMENT Joseph G. A; Riccio, Bristol, R. I. ApplicationMarch 18, 1950, Serial N 0. 150,520

1 Claim. 1.

This invention relates to improvements inracks for holding life buoy equipment and it has for its primary object to provide a rack unit of the class described which will normally hold both' a life buoy ring and its'throw-line in compactly assembled relationship and in such manner that they are always accessible for expeditious removal and use.

A further object of the invention is to provide a rack of the class described from which the life buoy and its throw-line may be quickly removed by an individual without the necessity of operating unfamiliar and more or less complicated fastening devices.

A further object of the invention is to provide a rack of the class indicated of simple and inexpensive construction whose parts will not be injuriously or adversely affected by weather conditions.

To these ends I have provided a rack of the class indicated which, in its preferred form, may be constructed and used as set forth in the following description, the novel features thereof being pointed out and defined in the claim at the close of the description.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of my improved rack for holding life buoy equipment.

Figure 2 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the rack shown in Fig. 1.

Figure 3 is a front elevation, partly broken away, of the rack after applying thereto the life buoy and throw-line as hereinafter described.

Figure 4 is a side view, partly in section, of the loaded rack shown in Fig. 3.

The illustrated embodiment of my invention comprises a vertically elongated frame in the form of a panel In which may be made from waterproofed wood, metal or other suitably rigid material. The upper portion of this panel or frame is provided with marginal apertures l l for the reception of bolts, screws or other appropriate means by which said panel is fastened securely to any suitable and convenient supporting fixture such as that indicated by broken lines at 12 in Fig. 4 of the drawings, which fixture may be located on board a ship or on a shore or wharf in proximity to a body of water.

Rigidly fastened by screws i3 in position upon the outer face of the panel 10 in proximity to the upper end thereof are two outstanding horizontally alined upwardly directed hooks M which are spaced apart equidistantly from a longitudinal medial line extending vertically from the top to the bottom of the panel. As shown in Figs. 3' and 2 these twohooks are adapted to extend through and support an annular life buoy I5.

Directly below the pair of hooks M the lower portion of panel H] is made upon its outer side withvertical guides or ways it within which are slidably confined the opposite side marginal portions of a slide I1 and rigidly fixed in position upon the outer face of this slide by screws 88 is a downwardly directed outstanding hook 119 that is disposed upon the longitudinal medial line of panel [0.

The slide I1 herein shown is made from lead so that its weight and that of hook l9 yieldingly urge said slide and hook downwardly, the limit of the movement of the slide in that direction being determined by a stop herein shown as a cross-bar 20 at the bottom of the ways IE.

To the life buoy I5 is fastened as at 22, Fig. 3, one end of the usual throw-line 2| and before applying the life buoy to the two hooks M, said line is wound around all three hooks as shown after which the life buoy is applied to the two hooks M with its lower portion resting against the coiled throw-line so that it assists in holding the latter in engagement with the three hooks as will be clear from Fig. 4. The outer end portions of the two hooks l4 extend obliquely upwardly from the shank portions of said hooks to provide a shoulder for holding the upper portion of the throwline coil in position upon said hooks, while the outer end portion of the lower hook 59 extends obliquely downwardly from the shank portion of said hook to provide a shoulder for holding the lower portion of the throw-line coil in engagement with said hook.

The throw-line 2| may be coiled in either direction around the three hooks starting with the loose end 23 thereof (Fig. 3) disposed alongside of the lower hook is and when it is completely coiled upon the hooks the life buoy I5 is hung upon the two upper hooks M as shown.

To use the life buoy and throw-line the life buoy is lifted clear of the hooks I4 by means of one hand preparatory to throwing the buoy while grasping the free end 23 of the throw-line with the other hand whose fingers are hooked under and behind the coil adjacent to hook is and utilized to lift the latter and its slide I! so that the upper portion of the coil can be removed from hooks l4 whereupon the lower part of the coil will clear the hook I9. The throw-line coil is then permitted to drop upon the deck or ground and expensive construction and while in use serves to hold the buoy and throw-line in compact and orderly fashion and in such manner that they can be removed for use with ease and dispatch without requiring time-consuming operation of complicated fastening devices.

An advantage to the above described rack characterized by having the throw-line wound around the hooks as above described, is derived through the fact that when the coil is removed from said hooks and thrown properly upon the ground or deck, the buoy I5 is connected with the top of the coil so that when the buoy is thrown out into the water the line will, without entanglement, render freely from the top of the coil and will not become snarled.

What I claim is:

A rack for holding life buoy equipment, comprising a frame for attachment in an upright position to a fixture, two horizontally alined spacedapart hooks fixedly connected to said frame, said hooks directed upwardly and outwardly from said frame and adapted to support an annular life buoy and an associated coil of life line thereon, vertical ways in said frame disposed beneath said hooks and spaced below the position occupied by the buoy, a weighted slide positioned in said ways and a third downwardly and outwardly directed hook fixedly secured to said slide for movement therewith toward and away from said first mentioned hooks and cooperatively associated therewith to engage and releasably hold the coiled life line.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 583,221 Archibald May 25, 1897 1,085,759 Sahl Feb. 3, 1914 1,186,678 Parr June 18, 1916 1,224,819 Wigren May 1, 1917 1,294,916 Knight Feb. 18, 1919 1,716,863 Morris et a1 June 11, 1929 2,003,147 Holm-Hansen May 28, 1935 2,260,109 Amdal Oct. 21, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 13,978 Great Britain Sept. 5, 1889 

